Brightly Lit and Rapidly Fading
by openPandora'sBox
Summary: AU fic set 117 years in the future. Caroline has established a successful life for herself as a vampire and acquirer of specialty goods, but when an old foe walks back into her life with a proposition, will she be able to survive the inevitable chaos?


_So this is a drabble for an idea for a fic I'll start working on after I finish **Don't Fall**. I'm sticking the 'complete' on it because I won't be working on it until after the other fic is finished. I'm trying to do that whole prioritization thing...I'm trying, 'kay?_

_**Disclaimer:** The Vampire Diaries and its characters are not mine. I just occasionally borrow them and make them have parties._

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><p>Brightly Lit and Rapidly Fading<p>

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><p>In the one hundred and seventeen years since that fateful night when Katherine had taken a pillow to her face, smothered her to death, and turned her into a vampire, Caroline had never been to Egypt. She'd always meant to go, but something had always gotten in the way; a generous invitation to visit Europe, another request from Bonnie for a hard-to-find spell ingredient, a desperate client. All were things she couldn't say no to and all were things that had, in one or another, kept her out of the land of the Pharaohs.<p>

Sometimes it puzzled her. After all, she made a rather generous living procuring delicate items for a select clientele from locations all over the world. This ensured that she'd set foot pretty much everywhere else in her hunt for people, priceless artefacts, stolen goods, or even sentimental trinkets. How she'd managed to avoid Egypt for so long was mystifying to say the least.

Stepping out of the oppressive heat and press of people of the city of Cairo and into her blessedly air conditioned hotel, Caroline let out a huge sigh of relief and headed straight for the bar. Checking in could wait until she had a proper drink to chase away the lingering effects of the exhaustive heat on her body.

One bonus for this century over the last was the growing presence of vampires in mainstream society. Not that they were public knowledge. Caroline mentally scoffed at the idea. But there were establishments in most large cities that discreetly catered to their more supernatural clientele and its unique needs. This saved her the hassle of finding, luring, and compelling a human for her next meal.

Settling herself at a small booth in the corner, she signalled over a server and placed her order. It had been a while since she'd been in a place that still used human servers. Most had quickly transferred over to automated service and allowed their patrons to key in their orders directly from a fully stocked dispenser at their tables, thus bypassing the need for most staff. Caroline gazed admiringly at the retreating figure of the attractive young man who'd taken her order and found that she missed the more personal touches this century felt the need to forgo.

She took the time waiting for her drink to take stock of the other people in the bar. There were a few businessmen quietly talking over drinks a few tables over. An older man flirting with a much younger, well-dressed woman at the bar. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and she couldn't readily identify any other vampires.

When her server returned, he did so with two drinks and set them both down in front her of her. She stopped him before he could turn around to leave, "I'm sorry, I didn't order two drinks."

"No ma'am." The young man inclined his head, hands grasping his tray tightly. "There is a gentleman who said that he would like to buy you a drink."

Nodding to let him off the hook, she narrowed her eyes and looked around the bar again. This time she noticed the figure walking around from the other corner of the room – it had previously been obscured by a set of marble pillars.

Caroline let out a weary sigh. She knew that figure. He was dressed more appropriately for the weather in Cairo than she in perfectly tailored light coloured slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt made of material so light she should have been able to see through it. His customary necklaces were still present, tucked neatly beneath the small vee of his shirt.

"Caroline, love. It's been a long time." His blue eyes sparkled with amusement as he walked up to her booth, watching her with a small smile on his face.

"Klaus," was her only reply.

Eyebrows raised, Klaus gestured to the empty seat across from her. "Aren't you going to offer me a seat?"

"I wasn't planning on it actually, no."

Klaus merely looked at her for a second or two longer and then sat down anyway. "I see the past seventy five years haven't improved your disposition at all."

Caroline glanced down at the drink he'd bought her. She only needed one guess as to what it was. Lifting it to her lips, she gave him a mocking salute before downing it one gulp. She fought the urge to wince at the burn. Scotch. He knew she hated scotch, the bastard.

"Well, if you had come then as you do now with a drink before every encounter, I probably could have tolerated you better." She lifted a sardonic eyebrow and leaned back into the plush leather of the booth's seat. "Who knows, maybe I would have even liked you."

Klaus laughed quietly at that. Raising his own glass in acknowledgment, he took a small sip before setting it down and shaking his head at her. "You really should learn to appreciate the finer things in life, Caroline."

"Oh, but I do. Champagne, sweet smelling roses, a thick juicy steak," she paused to take a large drink of the still-warm blood in her other glass. Licking her lips clean of any drops that may have escaped, she shot Klaus a pointed look. "Men who get to the point."

"Come now, love." Klaus settled himself comfortably in his seat, arms crossed loosely against his chest. "It's been decades since we last saw each other. What's a drink and a little conversation between old friends?"

"Friends?" Caroline gave him an incredulous look. "The last time I saw you, you tried to kill me."

"You were trying to steal from me."

Caroline laughed. "I think your memory's getting fuzzy in your old age, Klaus. What I was after didn't belong to you. You weren't even supposed to be there."

Klaus opened his mouth to reply, but Caroline cut him off, "It doesn't matter." Her eyes narrowed. "What do you want now?"

Klaus studied her carefully. Even fresh off a trans-Atlantic flight and hungry she was beautiful. She'd scraped her blonde hair off of her face and into a messy bun at the back of her head. Her face was paler than normal despite the heat outside and dark circles smudged the underside of her eyes – eyes that burned with life despite her undead state. The rest of her might look tired and worn, but her eyes – bright and clear and alive with light – told him that she was more than capable of keeping up.

Good, Klaus thought to himself. This was going to take everything she had.

"I need you to do a job for me." He leaned in closer to her now, his voice quieter. He'd been pretty careful coming here, but he hadn't survived for over a millennium by taking unnecessary risks.

Caroline raised her eyebrows at him until they practically disappeared beneath her hairline. "A job," she repeated, unsure of whether or not she'd heard him clearly. "Me? For you?" She used the half full glass to gesture between them before bringing it back to her lips. "There isn't enough money in the world, Klaus."

"You wouldn't be doing this for money, Caroline." He absently swirled the amber liquid around in his glass. His eyes were fixed on hers.

"Oh, really," she fixed him with a sarcastic smile. "What would I be doing it for? Rainbows and unicorns? Shits and giggles?"

"Nostalgia," he answered.

"Is that anything like money? Because money is what's customary," she tossed back at him.

Klaus smiled a slow predatory smile that didn't quite reveal his teeth. "I need you to find someone."

Caroline shoulders tensed, but she forced herself to relax. "Well, it's nice to have needs, I suppose."

Klaus ignored her and continued, "I need you to find the doppelganger."

Caroline's stomach dropped and she had to force herself to remain seated. Suddenly, she was all too aware of every small sound in the bar; the ringing of glasses, the hushed whisper of small talk, the gurgle of liquid as drinks were poured. She realised her hand had tightened dangerously around her glass and she forced her fingers to relax.

Smoothing both hands on the shiny wooden table between them, she chose her words carefully, "Even if I knew where to find her – and I don't – I wouldn't in a million years help you find her." Caroline scowled and fought the urge to throw her almost empty glass at his face. "We've been down that road before, you and I, and it's not one I'm interested in revisiting."

"Ask me why."

Caroline pressed her hands into the table as she leaned forward. "I don't need to ask you why," she spat out. "I know why. It's always the same with you. You need more hybrids. You need more power. There's some other asshole with a bigger stick and you need something to wave in front of his face."

Klaus was growing impatient, but the only sign was the sharp staccato rhythm his foot was making on the polished floor.

"Ask me why," he repeated, his voice calm but lower this time. His eyes flashed dangerously.

Caroline glared, her own eyes darkening to a deeper shade of blue. She could feel her canines start their descent and forced them back.

"Fine," she snapped. "Why?"

Klaus shifted slightly in his seat, tempted to draw out his reveal, but Caroline was glaring at him as though she were preparing to jump across the table and drive a stake through his heart. It wouldn't kill him, but he wanted to avoid the inevitable hassle of compelling everyone in the room to forget the crazed vampire attack. That and he really liked the shirt he was wearing.

"I have reason to believe she's in danger," he began. He held up a hand to stop Caroline's inevitable tirade against his character. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, sweetheart. It's not me this time."

Caroline glowered at him, but remained silent. Obviously, he'd gotten her attention so he continued, "I know you don't know where she is, but you're going to help me find her. Luckily for you," Klaus stopped to think for a second. "And for her I suppose, you're the best at what you do."

"And if I agree," Caroline asked, her voice quiet but intent. "When I find her, what will you do then?"

Klaus smiled broadly at her certainty. "Oh, I'm going to kill her."

Caroline's eyes turned black and she couldn't control the urge to jump across the table at him. Suddenly his hand was on her shoulder, pushing her back down and holding her pressed against the leather seat.

Klaus pressed his face in close to hers, still grinning widely. "You haven't heard the best part, love."

She hissed at him, but he just continued to smile as he easily held her pinned down.

"I'm going to kill her." He brought his head down beside hers and whispered softly in her ear, "And then we're going to save her life."

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><p><em>Feedback, of any kind, is always appreciated.<em>


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